


Post-Pitfall Interview

by Raine_Wynd



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chuck Lives, Gen, Traditional Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-15
Updated: 2014-03-15
Packaged: 2018-01-15 19:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1316176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raine_Wynd/pseuds/Raine_Wynd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My take on how a post-Pitfall interview with a print magazine might go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Post-Pitfall Interview

"A fixed point, that’s what the marshal was," Chuck Hansen says, leaning forward intently. It’s been six weeks since the Breach was closed, and it’s the first glimpse anyone outside of the PPDC has had of the world’s youngest and most successful jaeger pilot since defending Sydney against Mutavore. "Stacker Pentecost held the program together with that conviction that we would succeed and nothing anyone could say or do would change that outcome." Chuck’s tone dares me to say anything otherwise. "He was the first Ranger to pilot solo. They told him if he ever piloted again, he’d die. I knew that he didn’t plan on coming back when he stepped up to pilot in my old man’s place – but that’s the kind of Ranger he was. He committed to something and you knew he was going to follow through. He said we were going to blow the Breach." Chuck grins. "Turns out we didn’t quite do that, but we cleared a path for the lady –“ he nods to Gipsy Danger’s pilots “ – and took out two of the biggest Cat 4 kaiju we’d ever seen."

Chuck leans back in his seat. He’s dressed in an olive green T-shirt and khaki pants. His right forearm is in a high-tech soft cast, designed to speed healing of fractures – “banged it on the escape pod,” Chuck explains. When asked if he suffered other injuries, Chuck waves it off. “I’m alive and that’s more than anyone, least of all me, expected. Stacker wanted us to blow up the Breach, seal it for good. I’m just glad I got the chance to help end the war.”

Three of the world’s last four jaeger pilots are seated on a battered leather couch in what used to be the crew lounge, just off the main jaeger launch bay; Herc Hansen is in a meeting with the UN. I’ve been briefed on the list of injuries – drivesuit burns (Raleigh and Chuck), broken bones (Chuck, right wrist, forearm, and right ankle), radiation exposure (Mako, Raleigh, and Chuck), oxygen deprivation (Mako and Raleigh), plus an assortment of bruises - but all three seem to be in good spirits. Herc Hansen suffered a broken arm in the defense of Victoria Harbor and served as the acting marshal for the final battle; with Marshal Pentecost’s death, he was promoted to full marshal.

Raleigh’s wearing a loose, navy blue sweater and jeans. Beside Chuck, Mako is in a PPDC-issue blue work uniform. It’s clear from their body language that the trio has become close – no surprise for co-pilots, and no surprise for Mako and Chuck. Chuck, who’s become notorious for his abrasiveness, is surprisingly at ease with Raleigh.

“He and his brother were guys I looked up to when I was a sprog,” Chuck admits when questioned, getting an amused grin from Raleigh. “Knowing Raleigh piloted a jaeger solo – twice – that’s hardcore. That’s a Ranger ‘til the end.”

“Did what I had to do,” Raleigh says quietly. “You were prepared to do the same.”

Chuck nods. “Marshal Pentecost was a sneaky bastard – sorry, Mako, but he was. Hid his plans for me until the very end. One of the switches I threw to blow the bomb actually triggered the escape pod, which is how I broke my arm – I wasn’t prepared for the lift into the pod.”

“Surprised us,” Raleigh adds. “None of us expected to see another escape pod.” He grins. “Then again, if anyone was going to survive a thermonuclear blast, I’d put my bets on Chuck.”

The friendship between Mako Mori and Chuck Hansen has long been documented – complete with rumors of estrangement due to romance, rivalry, or just plain distance. As the only children of two of the most famous jaeger pilots, they were often left to each other’s company whenever both were in the same Shatterdome. There was even talk of whether they’d have Drift compatibility.

They laugh now at that question. “We’d kill each other,” Chuck says bluntly. “We always did when we sparred.”

"We always wanted to win," Mako says with a smile. "But we’d fight not as one, but as two separate people. You cannot have that kind of conflict in the Drift.“

_It’s been rumored you stopped being friends. Was there any truth to that rumor?_

“I was too busy fighting kaiju to keep it up,” Chuck says easily. “Mako was running around the world trying to find parts for the jaeger restoration program, which meant we were always trying to figure out who was up when. It was just easier to let it slide and focus on what mattered, especially since the kaiju started coming more frequently.”

I ask them how it feels to have closed the Breach and banished the kaiju. By silent agreement, Chuck and Raleigh turn to Mako.

“Think Mako deserves to answer this first,” Chuck says.

She’s quiet while she composes an answer. “It feels good,” she says finally. “I have lived for this day for so long, it almost doesn’t seem real that I had a hand in it, more than rebuilding an old jaeger.”

“Couldn’t have pulled it off without you,” Raleigh tells her honestly. Chuck, predictably, makes a face at his sweetness, but is elbowed by Mako, and the trio share a look full of exasperated affection. Clearly, six weeks of recovery in the same medical ward has cemented their friendship.

_Raleigh, let’s start with you. Were you aware of whom the current jaeger pilots were before you came back?_

“Much as I wanted to pretend I wasn’t interested,” he smiles ruefully, “I couldn’t escape the news, so I was aware that many of the people I’d known weren’t piloting jaegers anymore. Coming back, I fully expected to be paired with someone from the last Jaeger Academy class, since all the pilots I knew about were either dead or already matched with someone else.”

_What were you doing for the five years you were away from the PPDC?_

Raleigh smiles tightly. “Whatever I could to survive.” He refuses to elaborate; sources say he was found on the Sitka Anti-Kaiju Wall construction site, which has become a target for demolition and protest.

_How did it feel when you saw that the jaeger you’d been assigned was the same one you’d jockeyed before?_

“Amazing. She looked new again, like the first time Yancy and I saw her. Mako and her team did an incredible job restoring and improving her.”

_Did you wish you got a chance to pilot a newer model?_

“In some ways, I feel like I did,” Raleigh laughs. “Gipsy never moved that fast before and she certainly didn’t have two chain swords!”

_Mako, you spearheaded the Mark III restoration program after being denied a chance to pilot a jaeger. Did you think you’d get a chance to pilot the jaeger you helped restore?_

“I’d hoped for that scenario, but I never dreamed Raleigh would insist on me. I’m very grateful and honored that we were Drift compatible.”

_Chuck, you said that bad pilots caused the program’s shutdown. How has your opinion changed now that the Breach is closed?_

“I still think there were some bad pilots, pilots who couldn’t adapt fast enough to the changing scenarios,” Chuck says. “The last few years, the kaiju were getting smarter; you had to move faster, think out of the box. What happened in Victoria Harbor proved it was also the kaiju, adapting to our tactics and coming up with better defenses. We needed more jaegers, not some bloody useless wall that a kaiju could tear through in two minutes.”

_Your father wasn’t in Striker Eureka with you for that last battle, Chuck. How was it to be in your jaeger with someone new?_

“Nerve-wracking, actually,” Chuck admits, and at my look of surprise, he laughs softly. “Yeah, me, nervous. After Victoria Harbor, I knew Raleigh and Mako would handle Gipsy just fine, but I’d piloted with my old man in the same jaeger for six years. Stacker was a great pilot, and he’d done some test runs with my old man, so I didn’t want to disappoint him. I also knew that we were going down with two less jaegers than we’d planned, and right out of the gate, it wasn’t looking good. Visibility underwater was zero and the kaiju were faster than we’d seen before.”

_Raleigh, how was it for you and Mako, going underwater?_

“My brother and I had gone underwater in Gipsy before,” Raleigh says. “We’d made a run at the Breach two months before he died. So that part was familiar. The hard part was that we had an eel-like kaiju who was wicked fast and slapped us around before we could really get our bearings.”

_Reports indicate that Gipsy Danger lost an arm and was heavily damaged in the legs before you took it into the Breach. Striker Eureka was considered a total loss. The natures of your injuries indicate that the kaiju battered all of you before the mission was completed. It’s also been reported that you faced not only two of the largest, fastest Category IV kaiju, but the first Category V, the largest, most dangerous kaiju ever known. Knowing what you know now about the kaiju, would you do it again?_

“Absolutely,” Raleigh says. “Would I have used different tactics, sure. But all the sacrifices that were made to get us to this point – waking up and knowing the kaiju can’t come through that Breach again, that’s worth every scar, every bit of grief.”

_What incentive did Marshal Pentecost give you to get you back in a jaeger? Reports indicated you were not inclined to pilot again after your brother’s death._

Raleigh smiles briefly at that. “I didn’t think I could have anyone else in my head again. The marshal asked me if, given the end of the world, if I wanted to do something about it in a jaeger or die where I was. Good thing I said yes – I’d have missed meeting some amazing people, like the Weis and the Kaidonovskys, never mind the things Mako and I did.”

“They held the line,” Chuck adds, respect in his tone. “They went down fighting.”

Raleigh and Mako nod agreement.

_What’s next for the three of you?_

“We have to be ready in case they come back,” Mako says quietly. “We cannot assume, given how quickly they evolved, that they will not try again. To that end, we’re continuing with the Mark III restoration project so that we can at least have one jaeger capable of defense. Beyond that, there are plenty of opportunities for the PPDC to help with reconstruction and to apply what we know to help those who suffered the most, as we have always been doing.”

“Someone has to help my old man,” Chuck chimes in. “He’s the marshal now.”

“I don’t have much to go back to,” Raleigh adds. “And I’d rather spend my time with the people who not only want to make a difference in this world, but can.”

_Many people are speculating on a romance between Mako and Raleigh, or possibly – because of a photo showing Mako holding Max the bulldog – Mako and Chuck. Care to elaborate?_

“I’m not into Mako that way,” Raleigh replies. “She’s like a sister to me.”

“Same here,” Chuck adds. “Mako and I – we go back when we were both sprogs. Never thought I’d see her pilot, but –“ he grins “– as usual, she proved me wrong.”

Mako smiles at that. “I always finish what I start. You always forget that.”

_Chuck, you once said that if the kaiju war was won, the first thing on your list was to spend a day doing something completely decadent. Have you accomplished that goal, and if so, what did you do?_

Chuck smiles. “I’d rather keep that private.” His grin widens as he adds, “That was part of it being ‘completely decadent’ - no reporters to witness what happened. So much of my life’s been public; it was really nice to know I could relax without someone videotaping me.” He grins. “Hate not looking my best.”

_Raleigh, you were asked the same question a long time ago, and you said whatever it was, it probably would be with your brother. How does it feel to be here without him?_

“Difficult,” Raleigh says quietly. “He and I were so close; I feel a bit like I still have him with me, so it’s surreal. That said – I feel like I found home again. I had these half-assed plans to go out and party – turned out for the first twenty-four hours after we closed the Breach, I was too busy getting patched up to celebrate much.” He glances at Chuck and Mako. “But the crew saved us some champagne for when we could celebrate, and we toasted the jaeger pilots who made it possible for us to get to this point.”

_Mako, what about you? Did you have plans for when the kaiju were gone?_

“I traveled so much on business,” Mako says. “I’d like to be able to spend a few days playing tourist somewhere I haven’t been. Wherever I go, I’m sure I’ll have company. One of the best things to come out of this has been getting to know Raleigh and renewing my friendship with Chuck. The luxury to discover what the future holds – that is something we all have fought hard for, and to know that others will not have to make the same sacrifices…this means much.”

_A memorial service for the fallen jaeger pilots will be held in Victoria Harbor on Monday at 10:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Jaeger Defense Network, which supports victims of the kaiju attacks._


End file.
